Avatars and metaverse in the professional sphere: experiment to understand user behavior

Purpose Virtual worlds have undergone considerable technological advances in recent years, from the personalization of avatars to the enrichment of haptic technologies, enabling a ten-fold increase in the sensory characteristics of the environment in which individuals are immersed. The metaverse is used in various fields, ranging from aerospace and healthcare to employee and student training. This research aimed to analyze the perception of the advantages and limitations of avatars in the professional use of the metaverse. Design/methodology/approach To address the research objective, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study with thirteen employees. First, non-participant observations were used to identify respondents’ behaviors, reactions and emotions as they created their avatars and took their first steps into the metaverse. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide to analyze emerging emotions and explain the metaverse’s acceptability to employees. Findings The professional usage context defines the limitations of avatar creation; users showed a conservative approach in designing their avatars, expressed in three types: those who approve, those who are reluctant and those who oppose. Originality/value This study is the first to empirically examine how professionals with no prior metaverse experience create avatars for workplace use, conceptualizing these avatars as professional digital twins shaped by social norms. It introduces a novel typology of avatar behaviors – approver, reluctant and opposer. Methodologically, the study advances experiential research by combining non-participant observation and interviews, while also extending technology acceptance models by identifying context-specific motivations and barriers to professional metaverse adoption.